{"id":"finder-location.why-are-files-in-the-storage-studio-location-online-only","url":"/faq/finder-location/why-are-files-in-the-storage-studio-location-online-only","category":{"id":"finder-location","title":"Finding things in Finder"},"subcategory":{"id":"cloud-drive-in-finder","title":"Storage Studio in Finder's sidebar"},"question":"Why do files in the Storage Studio location show as online-only, and do they use space on my Mac?","alt_questions":["Cloud icon next to files in Storage Studio drive","Do files in the cloud drive take up disk space?","Why does a file take a moment to open from the Storage Studio location?","download on demand storage studio finder","Files not downloaded in Storage Studio Location"],"short_answer":"Files stay in the cloud until you open them, so online-only items take essentially no space on your Mac. Opening one downloads it on demand, so large files can take a moment the first time.","answer_markdown":"They stay in your cloud account until you open them, so a folder full of online-only files takes essentially no space on your Mac. When you open one, it downloads on demand — which is why the first open of a large file can take a moment, depending on your connection.\n\nThis works the same way as the online-only files you may know from iCloud Drive or Dropbox.\n\nIf you need files available without a connection, copy them to a folder on your Mac or your external drive.","answer_html":"

They stay in your cloud account until you open them, so a folder full of online-only files takes essentially no space on your Mac. When you open one, it downloads on demand — which is why the first open of a large file can take a moment, depending on your connection.

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This works the same way as the online-only files you may know from iCloud Drive or Dropbox.

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If you need files available without a connection, copy them to a folder on your Mac or your external drive.

","answer_text":"They stay in your cloud account until you open them, so a folder full of online-only files takes essentially no space on your Mac. When you open one, it downloads on demand — which is why the first open of a large file can take a moment, depending on your connection.\n\nThis works the same way as the online-only files you may know from iCloud Drive or Dropbox.\n\nIf you need files available without a connection, copy them to a folder on your Mac or your external drive.","tags":["online-only","cloud drive","download"],"related":[{"id":"finder-location.what-is-the-storage-studio-location-in-finder","question":"What is the \"Storage Studio\" entry in Finder's sidebar?","url":"/faq/finder-location/what-is-the-storage-studio-location-in-finder"},{"id":"finder-location.can-i-edit-files-in-the-storage-studio-location","question":"Can I edit and rename files in my cloud accounts directly from Finder?","url":"/faq/finder-location/can-i-edit-files-in-the-storage-studio-location"},{"id":"finder-location.copy-files-into-a-cloud-account-from-finder","question":"Can I upload files to a cloud account by dragging them into the Storage Studio location?","url":"/faq/finder-location/copy-files-into-a-cloud-account-from-finder"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"Why do files in the Storage Studio location show as online-only, and do they use space on my Mac? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"Files stay in the cloud until you open them, so online-only items take essentially no space on your Mac. Opening one downloads it on demand, so large files can take a moment the first time.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"Finding things in Finder","path":"/faq/finder-location/"},{"name":"Why do files in the Storage Studio location show as online-only, and do they use space on my Mac?","path":"/faq/finder-location/why-are-files-in-the-storage-studio-location-online-only"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/finder-location/why-are-files-in-the-storage-studio-location-online-only","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Why do files in the Storage Studio location show as online-only, and do they use space on my Mac?","alternateName":["Cloud icon next to files in Storage Studio drive","Do files in the cloud drive take up disk space?","Why does a file take a moment to open from the Storage Studio location?","download on demand storage studio finder","Files not downloaded in Storage Studio Location"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"They stay in your cloud account until you open them, so a folder full of online-only files takes essentially no space on your Mac. When you open one, it downloads on demand — which is why the first open of a large file can take a moment, depending on your connection.\n\nThis works the same way as the online-only files you may know from iCloud Drive or Dropbox.\n\nIf you need files available without a connection, copy them to a folder on your Mac or your external drive.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/finder-location/why-are-files-in-the-storage-studio-location-online-only"}}]},"fragment":"
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Finding things in Finder · Storage Studio in Finder's sidebar

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Why do files in the Storage Studio location show as online-only, and do they use space on my Mac?

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Short answer: Files stay in the cloud until you open them, so online-only items take essentially no space on your Mac. Opening one downloads it on demand, so large files can take a moment the first time.

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They stay in your cloud account until you open them, so a folder full of online-only files takes essentially no space on your Mac. When you open one, it downloads on demand — which is why the first open of a large file can take a moment, depending on your connection.

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This works the same way as the online-only files you may know from iCloud Drive or Dropbox.

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If you need files available without a connection, copy them to a folder on your Mac or your external drive.

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Last reviewed

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Related questions

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Also available as Markdown and JSON.

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